Trick or Treat
by nekilarose
Summary: TVD AU where Bonnie has left Mystic Falls and settled in a small town in Oregon. She's happy to finally be away from the supernatural...or is she?


_A/N:This is a quick oneshot about Bonnie leaving M.F and settling down somewhere else eventually. It kinda mirrors what happened on the show, except there are no Gemini._  
_She and Damon did get stuck in 1994, but it was due to a different coven. Everything else that happened after that show-wise is still the same._

* * *

"Umm yeah, there's a severed hand on my doorstep."

That sentence changed Bonnie Bennett's life for the better.

First things first, though.

When she uttered that phrase across the phone lines, admittedly in a nonchalant tone, the 911 operator took a pregnant pause before repeating her words "There's a _severed hand_ on your _doorstep_?"

"Yes, I'm not sure if this is the right number to call for it, seeing as I'm not harmed in any way, but I thought it would be somewhat important." Bonnie wasn't sure about the procedures in the mundane world. If she were back home in Mystic Falls, she'd just call Matt and have him come by to take a look at it.

"What's your address?"

No more than 10 minutes had gone by before she heard the wail of the police siren. By the time Bonnie had made it to the front door, there was already a crowd of police officers assembled there. The questions came fast and in no discernable order:

_"Was there a note?"_

_"How long has this been here?"_

_"Do you live here?"_

_"Do you live alone?"_

Bonnie tried her best to answer the questions as they came, but they were fired at her faster than she could handle.

"Make a hole!" The order came from just outside the circle. Bonnie watched as the officers scrambled to clear a space for a man to push through. He wasn't the tallest person there, nor the most muscular, but something about him drew Bonnie's attention to him. He was older than she was, early 30's it looked like. Bonnie idly thought that he filled out his slacks and dress shirt rather well.

"Ma'am? Ma'am?" Bonnie snapped out of her daydream, the man had been trying to get her attention for a minute.

"Yes? Sorry, I spaced out for a second there." She rushed to answer. Jeez, you would think she hadn't spent the better part of the last 10 years surrounded by good looking guys. But this guy had an intensity about him that even Damon couldn't touch.

He gave her a concerned look, "I understand this must be traumatizing for you."

Bonnie frowned, "Hmm? Oh yeah, the hand." Truth be told, that was the least traumatizing thing Bonnie had seen in a long time. She thought back to the first time she'd seen someone rip a heart out of someone's chest, now that had been traumatic!

"Can we go over the sequence of events that lead you to finding the hand?" Bonnie sighed, it looked like her relaxing afternoon massage would have to wait.

Since it looked like they would be there a while, she invited him in to sit down so they could talk. Bonnie carefully recalled the events of the morning right up to her opening the door and finding the wrapped box on her doorstep. The man, Detective Kai Parker, listened attentively and took lots of notes before he started asking her questions.

"Why did you open the box?" He began.

"Why wouldn't I open the box?" Bonnie asked bewildered, "It was on my doorstep, and addressed to me."

"Were you expecting a package?" He queried.

"No, but I do own a shop and sometimes things get delivered here by mistake." She explained patiently.

"But aren't all those marked with a return address?" He pressed.

Bonnie thought about the packages she would get from other covens. There were things that were not sold in stores, but were available through alternate means. Those she normally had sent to her home so as to not tip off her employees. She figured a little white lie would be her best bet, "Yes they are."

"And it didn't strike you as unusual that this one didn't have an address?"

"Honestly, I didn't look at the address, I just opened it up." Bonnie admitted sheepishly.

He nodded and made a few notes, "Okay, what did you do once you opened the box?"

"I closed it and called 911." Bonnie said simply.

"Yeah, about that." Kai shifted in his seat, "I listened to the 911 call on the way here, you sounded" he seemed to search for the right word, "You didn't sound alarmed at all is what I'm trying to say."

"Okay?" Bonnie shrugged, "It's a hand Detective, as far as body parts go it's fairly innocuous. Plus, I felt fairly confident that it wasn't going to jump up and strangle me."

He studied her for a moment, then looked around the room as if to ask 'is anyone else hearing this?' before clearing his throat and shifting tactics.

"So you're saying you're new to the area?" At her nod he continued, "Where were you before you came to Portland?" He sat with his pen poised over his notepad.

Bonnie took a deep breath, "Okay well..." She went down the list of places that she'd gone to after leaving Mystic Falls.

At first, she'd felt apprehensive about leaving the one place that she'd known as home, but the more she'd gotten out and explored, the more she loved it. She'd settled in Portland partly because it was literally on the other side of the country, and partly because her magic had taken a liking to the place. Her grams had written about Portland and Bonnie liked the idea of settling in a place that her grandmother had once lived in as well.

"Wow, that's a lot of places. You like to travel?" The detective asked.

"Yeah, I like to meet new people." Bonnie agreed before frowning, "Not like this though." He gave her a sympathetic smile, "I understand."

"So what are we looking at here?" Bonnie directed the conversation back to the reason why her house was currently teeming with police. Not that the detective wasn't easy on the eyes, but she had things to do today.

"I'm going to be honest with you Miss. Bennett-"

"Bonnie, please."

"Okay, Bonnie." He smiled at her again, and oh, he had dimples. Bonnie had to sternly remind herself she needed to pay attention.

"I'm going to be honest, Bonnie. This looks like the work of a serial killer that we've been after for a while." Detective Parker said with a grim face.

"Seriously?" Bonnie cocked her head to the side, that was new. "Why target me? I'm not even from here!"

"We're not sure how and or why he chooses his victims." He stated.

"Okay so if he's local, maybe he's got me confused with someone else, or maybe he meant to target the person that lived here before me." Bonnie suggested.

"That could be it." Detective Parker agreed. "We'll look into that angle, but in the meantime, we'd like to put some surveillance on your home and place of business for extra protection." He turned to get the attention of the nearest patrol officer.

"Oh, that's not necessary." Bonnie waved it off. She would just increase the circle of protection that she had around her property and herself. She figured she could also cast a reveal spell in order to help the local police out.

"Excuse me?" His head snapped back around to fix her with a confused look.

"I mean, I'll be more careful, obviously, and I'll be on the lookout for…shady people, but you don't have to go through all that trouble for me. I'm sure the police's time could be spend doing better things." Bonnie tried to clarify for him. She was sorting through the various spells she'd learned over the years to determine which one would be her best bet.

"There was a severed body part… left on your doorstep…that's probably the work of a serial killer, and your answer to that is that you're going to be 'on the lookout for shady people'?" He said slowly.

Bonnie sat back on her couch, "Well anything sounds like a dumb idea when you say it like that." She mumbled. "I'm serious though, don't waste your manpower, I'm telling you, they've got the wrong person."

* * *

They did not have the wrong person.

Over the next few weeks, there were more 'gifts' left for Bonnie, all various body parts. The police were working around the clock to identify exactly who the parts belonged to. Each box included a letter that simply said that the body parts were an offering. With each box, Bonnie had to endure the 'I told you so' look of Detective Parker until she finally relented and allowed him to post an officer at her home and shop.

Bonnie was surprised to find the officer that was posted at her home was Detective Parker himself. She had assumed that it would be someone low on the totem pole. But when she opened the door and Detective Parker waltzed through with a duffle bag, she knew she was in trouble.

"He's here, in my house, on my couch, and eating my foo-well actually he brought his own and is a real good cook." Bonnie hissed into her phone.

"He can cook?" Bonnie pictured the excited grin on the blondes face.

"Focus, Care!" Bonnie snapped.

"Bonnie, do you want brownies for dessert?" Kai called down the hall.

"He can bake?" Came the excited squeal on the other end.

"Who can bake?" She heard Elena's voice in the background. Bonnie groaned, she hadn't realized that Elena and Damon would have been back from their extended honeymoon by now. She'd purposefully neglected to tell them, knowing that if she spilled the beans she'd find herself with a house full of (well-meaning but intrusive) people.

"Bonnie's new bodyguard." Caroline called back.

"Why do you need a bodyguard?" Elena asked.

"Uh yeah, that's fine." Bonnie called back to Kai.

"Why do you need a bodyguard?" Elena repeated.

"Who needs a bodyguard?" Damon butted in.

"I gotta go." Bonnie hung up and put the phone to silent. She knew from experience that neither Elena nor Damon would let it go and that they'd be calling nonstop. The last thing she needed was Mystic Falls to descend on her newfound life. She was going to give this protection thing one more week before she took matters into her own hands.

She walked out just in time to see Kai pull a lasagna from the oven. Bonnie is not ashamed to say she may have drooled a little. "Where did you learn how to cook?"

He shrugged, "One of the oldest in a big family, it came in handy."

"One of the oldest?" Bonnie pried, realizing that she didn't know anything about the man that was currently invading her living room. "And how big is big?"

"I have a twin." He clarified, motioning for her to grab a plate. "Then there's Joey and Stacy, and after them is another set of twins, Lucas and Olivia."

"Wow that must have been nice growing up with a bunch of siblings." Bonnie was a little envious, she'd always wanted a sibling, but the closest she'd gotten was Caroline and Elena.

"That's right, you're an only child, right?" Bonnie wasn't fooled by his forced casualness. She knew he had probably read her file a hundred times over by now.

"You know I am." She said flatly. "Only one left now." She said softly looking down at her plate. Well, that wasn't entirely true, Abby was alive somewhere, but Bonnie wasn't sure where and wasn't about to go looking for her anytime soon.

"Yeah, I meant to ask about that, your hometown had quite the death toll a while back. Is that why you left?" He tried to ease into questioning.

"That was part of it." Bonnie hedged, the part that she would never tell him was that she got tired of being the magical fix-it witch. She wanted to go and explore and see what was out there in the world. She didn't want to stay in the area where it had changed everyone that she'd ever known and had lost everyone that she loved, her grams, her dad, Abby in a way….Enzo.

"More likely, it was just time to fly the nest, you know?" She took a bite and tried to hold in her moan of pleasure. _'This guy's girlfriend must be well-fed'_ she mused.

"I also talked to a Matt Donovan when I was doing background, he says he's pissed that you didn't tell him when this first started by the way." Kai revealed.

Bonnie stopped chewing and shot him a murderous look, "You told Matt?"

"I'm law enforcement, he's law enforcement and he could give me valuable insight as to what your life was like prior to coming here." Kai lifted an eyebrow, "I wasn't under the impression that it was a secret."

"No, it's not a secret, I just didn't want him to worry. He always does, and he knows I can take care of myself." Bonnie made a mental note to call Matt later.

"There's a serial killer leaving you body parts as gifts, and you didn't want him to worry?" There was that look again. Bonnie had to stifle a laugh, if he only knew all the crap she'd been through over the years, he'd be nonchalant about this too.

"Once again, when you say it like that, it sounds dumb." Bonnie grumbled. "You're lucky you're a good cook, otherwise I'd swap you out for Jackson." She referred to the officer that was watching her store.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind." She swore she heard Kai mumble under his breath.

"What?"

"What? Nothing. But anyway, back to your friend Matt. Apparently you were the all American girl back then. Cheerleader, lifeguard, the whole nine, but he didn't really say much about exes." Bonnie's internal antenna went up, they had already gone over her past relationships (short as that list was), so why was he bringing it back up now?

"There's not much to tell, I didn't date much in high school. Or college." _Kinda hard to date when you're dead half the time_, she thought to herself. She watched Kai frown.

"What?" She felt a little defensive in his silence.

"Were they all blind?" He asked bluntly, then promptly looked embarrassed at his outspoken-ness. Bonnie, on the other hand, inwardly preened at the compliment. It had been a while since Enzo had died, and while she had dated a bit in her travels, she hadn't had another real relationship since him.

Bonnie was thinking of a (snappy but still cute) comeback when her phone rang and the sounds of Home by Phillip Phillips started playing. She sighed, "Speak of the devil," she picked up her phone and winced at Matt's tone when he started to speak. She apologized to Kai as she took her plate into her room to continue the conversation.

* * *

"Hey Bonnie, can you come home?" Was what she heard when she answered the phone the next week. Briefly she focused on the fact that Kai hadn't said her home, or to the house, he'd asked her to come _home_, as if they were together.

"We've got something that we need you to take a look at." Kai hung up the phone before she could even reply. Bonnie closed her shop for the day and headed home. She hadn't gotten any more strange packages in a while, so the police presence had been reduced.

Evidently that had been a mistake.

She arrived home to a grim faced Kai and a cadre of police who were standing around a much bigger box than what she normally received. Bonnie barely spared it a glance, instead she went straight inside to find Kai. He was holding an envelope and wordlessly handed it to her with a somber look. Inside the envelope were pictures that had been taken of her without her knowledge. Not just inside her house, but inside her bedroom while she had been asleep. Bonnie stared at the pictures in shock.

Whoever it was had gotten by her barrier spell.

"I am so sorry Bonnie." Kai said in a low voice. He was probably kicking himself for letting it happen. He'd left her alone a few nights ago while he went to support his twin while she was in labor and delivered her child. Bonnie had assured him that she would be okay with a cop car posted across the street.

"It's not your fault." She waved off his apology. She had been irritated before by this intrusion in her life, but now she was furious. Admittedly she hadn't taken it too seriously beforehand, she had survived Mystic Falls, so a mundane killer wasn't exactly about to make her shiver in her boots, but it was time to actively fight back now.

"What the actual fuck?" Bonnie almost shouted in frustration, she had been hoping to get a break from being a supernatural target, but it looked like no matter where she went, mayhem would follow. She looked to Kai who was studying her closely. "What?"

Kai took her by the elbow and guided her into her bedroom for more privacy. "I know we've discussed this before, but are you sure you don't know what he means by offerings?" Kai pressed. "I can't help but notice that between your shop and your…..decor, that you practice something out of the ordinary."

"Excuse you? Exactly what is ordinary to you?" Bonnie whipped around to face Kai, who had the decency to look embarrassed.

"Look, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just asking if-"

"No, I don't do ritualistic sacrifices to some made up God, if that's what you're thinking." Bonnie sneered, "What I believe in is as pure and balanced as nature and doesn't rely on killing people in order to gain power." She gestured around her, "You've been damn near living here for the past month, have you seen anything like that? Have I given you any indication that that's what I practice?"

"No, you haven't. But there's someone out there that believes that you do." Kai stubbornly stood his ground. "Think, Bonnie. Did you ever meet anyone while traveling that seemed unhinged while you were praying or worshipping or whatever it is that you do?"

"Whatever it is…" Bonnie trailed off with a scoff, "You're an asshole."

"Never denied it, but I'm still going to need an answer, Bon."

"No, I don't associate with people like that." Bonnie firmly stated. "And how do you know it started with me? Didn't you say this person has been killing for a while?"

"Yes, but this is a new component to it, and it's kind of crazy that you mentioned the word sacrifices. None of the other murders had any mentions of sacrifices." He pulled out a piece of paper, "This is the letter that came with this box."

Bonnie took the letter gingerly, it wasn't typed like the ones that came before. This one was hand written and informed her that the body was a sacrifice to right a wrong that had been committed against her. It went on to say that the pictures were proof of the dead body's "deviant nature" and that they had rectified it. The letter went on to say that he hoped that him dispensing with the deviant proved that he was worthy of her attention, unlike the ungrateful blood suckers that she left behind. It the place of a signature, there was a symbol in wax.

"Here's what I think is going on." Kai spoke up, "I think there was a serial killer operating here, and that's who is in that box. I think _this guy_" Kai reached over and took the letter from Bonnie's lax fingers, "came upon the serial killer, learned he was looking at you, and teamed up with him for a little while. Sound about logical?" Bonnie nodded, "Okay, but the pictures are what tipped the scale. Because what guy #2 doesn't know is, guy #1 always takes pictures right before he goes in for the kill." Bonnie shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself.

Kai continued to theorize out loud, "So guy #1 spills the beans about the next step and guy #2 freaks out. Because he doesn't want you dead, he just wants you with him. He freaks out, kills guy #1, and thinks he's doing you a favor by saving you." He frowned, "I'm not sure what the ungrateful blood suckers thing is about, though."

_'__It's about vampires'_ Bonnie wants to blurt out. She closed her eyes and plopped down on her bed, placed a pillow over her head and screamed into it, would she ever get away from the supernatural craziness that was her life?

"We still have to run some tests, but I'm pretty sure the body that is in that box is the serial killer that's been terrorizing the state. Great for us, but now we have a person that was able to take down the one person that the whole police department couldn't, and he's fixated on you." Kai sat down next to her on the bed and pulled the pillow from over her eyes. She opened her eyes to find Kai leaning over her on the bed.

"Is there anything that you can give us to go on?" Bonnie felt his hand brush against hers briefly, and she forced herself to remain focused on the matter at hand, and not the butterflies that kicked up at his touch.

_'__Nothing that you would believe'_ Bonnie thought to herself. She took a breath, "Nobody immediately comes to mind, but I can reach out to some people."

"Give me the names and numbers and I'll contact them." Kai argued.

"No." Bonnie sat up, "These people trust me and I'm not going to sic the police on them for something that one person may have done."

Kai stared off into space for a bit, "You realize we're gonna have to tighten security right? Or rather, would you be up to going somewhere else for a bit? Just until we flush this guy out."

Bonnie's eyebrows shot up. "Why? The actual serial killer is dead, this guy is admittedly unhinged, but hasn't done anything to hurt me."

"He killed someone, Bonnie." Kai said slowly.

_'__So have I."_ She thought to herself. "Fine, go ahead and tighten security, whatever that means. I'm not leaving, I've got a business to run."

* * *

"Bonnie." The voice came from the shadows. Bonnie barely had time to react before Kai flung her behind him and brandished his weapon calling for the person to step out into the open area.

Bonnie peeked around Kai's broad form and called back the magic that she was about to release. "You jackass. Do you realize you were almost shot?" Bonnie knew it wouldn't have done any harm to the person, but she really didn't want to have to explain why a bullet shot at point blank range didn't kill the man still half hidden.

"Sorry." Stefan Salvatore stepped out fully into the night.

"What are you doing here?" The last time Bonnie had spoken to Caroline, she'd made no mention of her husband coming to see her.

Stefan saw her looking around, "It's just me. Care told me about what was going on and I decided to come out and see if I could help."

Bonnie frowned at the brooding vampire. "That's nice of you Stefan, really, but-" she waved a hand at Kai still standing next to her. "It's being handled."

"Matt also thought it would be a good idea." His stoic expression didn't change.

"Goddamn snitch." Bonnie said under her breath, knowing full well that he'd be able to hear her. That earned a quirk of Stefan's lips. "Seriously Bon, let me help. It can't hurt to have an extra set of eyes looking out for you. No offense, of course." He directed the apology to Kai who was still standing silently off to the side just watching them. Bonnie bristled a bit, it wouldn't hurt anything, but she would rather it be someone, anyone else than Stefan.

"None taken, in fact maybe you can convince her to agree to go away for a bit, just until we can catch this guy." Kai took the opening and grabbed it. Bonnie looked at him in shock, resisting the urge to call him a traitor.

"My family has a cabin up in the woods, and it's not being used by anyone." Kai addressed her, "I'd feel better if we could get you away from other people." Bonnie started to interrupt but he barreled over her, "No, he hasn't done anything yet, but with how unstable this guy is showing himself to be, I'd like to err on the side of caution."

Bonnie closed her eyes in resignation, "Fine, let's go into the woods." She figured she could use Stefan to keep Kai distracted while she drew out the misguided witch and tried to talk some sense into them. Or if necessary dispose of them.

They swung by her place in order for her to pack a bag. Bonnie found herself falling back into old habits around Stefan, communicating without words that she needed him to keep Kai out of her room while she packed everything that she thought she might need. She fixed a bag of regular clothes, and then one with all her witch items. She was tired of her daily routine being messed up, she wanted to go outside and garden for as long as she desired, she wanted her quiet life back.

She wanted to ask Kai out on a date.

Bonnie and Kai drove up together in his vehicle while Stefan followed at a distance. "So, is there anything I need to know about this guy?" He kept his eyes focused on the road.

"Stefan?" Bonnie leaned her head against the headrest. "No. He's not a threat, but we're not exactly on the best of terms."

"Is he an ex?"

Bonnie snorted, "No, definitely not. He's married to my best friend, and I'm friends with his brother."

"But you don't care for him?" Kai pressed.

"Things have happened over the years, some he was directly responsible for, and some he had a hand in. I guess being here is his way of trying to make up for it." Bonnie summed up. Her relationship with the younger Salvatore had always had its ups and downs. Sure he was Caroline's husband, and before that, Elena's boyfriend….

But he was also the person who was stuck in the cave that her grandmother had over-exerted herself in order to lift the barrier. He was also the person who had been tasked to kill her in order to save Elena. He was also the person who's face Silas wore when he slit her father's throat. Not to mention ripping Enzo's heart right out of his chest.

She sometimes thought herself a hypocrite because she had managed to befriend Damon, even though he was also responsible for her grandmother and directly responsible for Abby's turning. But Damon had put in the work to develop a relationship with her. Their time together in the prison world fighting together had turned their relationship from reluctant frenemies to actual friends. She couldn't really say the same for Stefan who tended to keep her at arms distance unless she was needed for something magical.

Bonnie thought she hid it pretty well, but sometimes it was hard as hell to look at Stefan Salvatore.

"That sounds…rough." Bonnie had almost forgotten that Kai was in the car as well. "Why do I get the feeling that your life up until now hasn't been the easiest?"

Bonnie leaned back onto the headrest and let out a chuckle, "You have no idea."

"I'd like to." He reached over to squeeze her hand. Bonnie felt her heart give a little leap, she had been 99% sure that she wasn't alone in feeling a spark between them, but it never hurt to be absolutely sure. She would have hated to make a move only to get turned down.

Once they got to the cabin, Stefan successfully distracted Kai enough that Bonnie was able to place a barrier around the entire home. Her hope was that the witch would notice the barrier, and work to eventually cross it, giving Bonnie enough time to set up a siphoning circle which would not only hold him, but drain him of his powers. She had a nifty little device that would siphon a witch and store it until it was released, courtesy of a coven that she met while in New Orleans.

Bonnie finished just as Kai and Stefan rounded the corner on the outside of the two story home. She stood up and brushed the little bit of dirt off her, "Okay, who's making dinner?" She asked cheerfully.

The look Kai shot her let her know that her little divide and conquer scheme didn't work, he clearly knew that Stefan was keeping him from something. Stefan looked back and forth between the two and wordlessly went into the house.

Bonnie started to speak, but Kai held up a hand, "I don't know why you had him keep me occupied way over there when I should have been right next to you watching your back. I really don't know why I went along with it, but I'm going to overlook that and just ask if you did whatever it was that you needed to do."

She decided to be honest with him, "Yeah, I did." She paused, "Does it bother you?"

Kai stepped closer to her, "It bugs me that you don't trust me enough to include me, no matter what it is you're doing." He added when it seemed like Bonnie was about to interrupt.

"You might not be saying that after all is said and done." Bonnie said in a low voice.

Kai edged even closer to her, "I mean it, I'm here to keep you safe, so whatever-" He was cut off by Bonnie's lips on his. She felt bad about what she was doing, but ultimately it was the best way to keep him safe (and unaware) of what was about to go down.

Stefan was there to catch him when the spell took effect, easily carrying him to his car. "I really wish you'd let me stay and help." Stefan tried to insist, but Bonnie stood firm.

"Just keep him away from here Stefan." Bonnie stroked a hand over Kai's forehead, "Keep him safe."

She saw the vampires eyes bounce from where she was standing to where the detective was still splayed out, as if he were attempting to solve a riddle. Thankfully, he let it go and simply got in the car and drove off.

Bonnie waited until she was sure they were far enough away to drop the barrier. Whoever it was had left enough of a trail so that she could do a summoning spell to bring him to her. She didn't want to wait to get to the bottom of whatever it was.

Luckily she didn't have long to wait, soon a figure emerged from the trees. He stopped at the edge of where the barrier spell was placed, and upon finding it wasn't there anymore, continued to move to where Bonnie stood. "I'm so pleased that you summoned me, I knew I was right about you."

Bonnie took in the figure, "Who are you?" To her knowledge, she had never met the man standing before her. He was tall with no easily distinguishable features, plain brown eyes, long hair that was kept in a ponytail, someone that would easily be able to blend in any crowd.

"I'm the person that saved you from a serial killer" he responded indignantly, "I think that deserves a thank you at least."

'Don't get me wrong, I am thankful" Bonnie tried to placate him, "but why not simply tell me? If you know who I am, then you know I would have been able to handle him."

"But that was the point!" The exclamation burst out of him, "I wanted you to see that you could count on me. That I'm powerful as well, you don't have to depend on the help of mundanes or, god forbid, the bloodsucker."

So he did know that Stefan was here, Bonnie thought to herself. "I'm still kinda unclear on why. Why do all of this? Why not just come talk to me?" She tried to keep him talking as long as she could, the device was gathering power and she wanted to give it enough time to make sure he would be completely drained of magic.

"You're Bonnie Bennett. You've faced Originals, broken out of prison worlds, gone to Hell and back. I couldn't just come and speak to you. I've seen you turn down regular witches and warlocks, I had to do something to stand out."

Bonnie felt a creeping dread, "Did you make that person kill all those people just so you could kill them?" She took an unconscious step back, did he create a serial killer just to play hero later?

He followed her retreat, "Of course not! He was already killing, I just took notice and steered him in your direction." He looked sheepish, "I didn't think he'd be dumb enough to actually try and go after you, though."

"Well, he killed people for kicks, what exactly were you expecting?" Bonnie asked slowly.

"You don't sound very appreciative." He honestly sounded offended, and a little pissed off.

Bonnie decided to change tracks, "I think we're getting off target, what do you want?"

He looked confused, "I want us to join together, I thought that was clear."

"And if I say no?" Bonnie braced herself.

"Why would you say no?" He frowned, "I've gone through the trouble of proving that I'm a capable warlock on my own, together we'd be unstoppable, a much better choice than the blood sucker you were with, or even the hunter."

Bonnie's eyebrows shot up at that, he was talking about Jeremy, exactly how long had this guy been keeping tabs on her? She and Jeremy would meet up a few times a year to either hunt together or just to hang out. Admittedly, they had hooked up a few times, but it was more out of nostalgia and being with someone that you knew and trusted.

"Or the mundane cop that's been hovering over you." Bonnie's heart sped up at that. Screw it, she didn't care if the device was powered up, she needed to get this guy under control immediately. She stuck her hand in her pocket and started chanting quietly. She was hoping to activate it without him noticing and have everything handled with minimum bloodshed.

Yeah, she was an idiot.

Once he realized what she was doing, his face contorted in rage and he rushed at her. Bonnie motus'ed him away from her, backing up to the exterior of the house. He threw a hex at her that required her to stop chanting in order to combat it. He took advantage of that to rush at her, slamming her back into the side of the house and wrenching her hand from her pocket.

"Here I am offering you a chance at a partnership and you're trying to use a dark object against me?" He tightened his grip around her hand, causing her to drop the device. Bonnie bypassed using magic altogether and drew her knee up between his legs with enough force to cause him to release her. She followed that up with a kick to get him away from her, and scrambled after the device.

"You ungrateful bitch!" He grabbed her ankle and Bonnie screamed in pain, her leg felt like it was on fire from the inside out.

"Fuck this" Bonnie sunk her hands into the earth, calling on her power. Soon cracks in the ground began to appear and tree roots shot up to wrap around her assailant. Once he was immobilized, she yanked her leg free and frantically searched for the device. Behind her, she heard him struggling to free himself from the tree roots. Her hand had just closed over the object when she felt the temperature drop significantly, then came the sound of branches breaking. She looked back and watched as he essentially turned the roots into ice and broke free, he floated a large branch in the air and positioned it to throw at her.

Bonnie tried to roll to the side in order to avoid getting hit, and was mostly successful. Her shoulder exploded in pain as a piece of the icicle lodged itself inside. She mumbled a quick healing spell while throwing up a barrier to give her time to plan her next move. She flinched as the barrier was bombarded with other pieces of the icy roots laying around. When he ran out of things to throw at her, he started attacking it with his magic, striking at random spots trying to find a weakness.

He was so focused on getting to Bonnie that he didn't notice the figure sneaking up on him from behind. Bonnie could have cried in relief at seeing Stefan appear from the shadows, but almost immediately she realized that if he was here, then he'd either left Kai alone and sped back here, or came back with him against her wishes.

She tried not to focus on Stefan, but her attacker must have seen her eyes flick to the side. He turned and flicked his wrist in a casual manner, Stefan was stopped in his tracks.

"Was this your plan? Distract me so the bloodsucker can attack me from behind? That's not very nice, Bonnie." He taunted as he called Stefan to him, Bonnie could see Stefan struggling to break free from the magical hold, but it was futile.

"Isn't this the vampire that conspired with his brother to kill you, but ended up turning your mother instead? Or what about ripping the heart out of your so called boyfriend's chest, although I have to actually commend him for that one." He clenched his fist and Stefan started struggling again, "I can't imagine why you would turn to him of all people for help."

"She….didn't" Stefan struggled to get out.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" He loosened his grip a little, "It's really hard to hear over you choking."

"I said, she didn't. I came here because I wanted to help, and I knew Bonnie would be too stubborn to ask for it." Stefan got out.

"Well, isn't that special?" Her assailant mocked. "One would think that you actually felt bad about all the bullshit you and your brother put her through over the years." He turned to address Bonnie, "Why don't I make him another sacrifice?"

Bonnie thought of the people that would be hurt by Stefan dying. Caroline had finally gotten her happy ever after, and Damon was settling in his human life with Elena. No matter what she thought of Stefan, both of them would be devastated if she allowed this jackass to kill him.

He smiled knowing that he had her dead to rights, "Drop the shield and I'll drop him."

Bonnie realized she didn't have much of a choice, she nodded in agreement then watched as he snapped Stefan's neck with a vicious smile.

She dropped the barrier and rushed towards the fallen vampire, but before she could reach, she was yanked back by her hair, "Why do you care so much about these damn blood suckers? You are a traitor to your own kind." Keeping a firm grip on her hair, he raised his other hand and Bonnie watched as it became engulfed in flames, "You know what we used to do to traitorous witches? We burned them at the stake, I think it's time we brought that back."

Bonnie thanked every deity that it was a muggy summer night, it was perfect for the spell that she was conjuring. She chanted fast, quickly pulling moisture from the air itself and using it to douse the flames. She twisted in his grip and jammed her fist into his solar plexus, causing him to release her.

"I don't know why you're making this so hard, Bonnie." He gasped out, "Clearly we're evenly matched, why won't you just admit it."

"I'd rather go back to Hell" She spat out.

He wiped at the blood that dotted his face, "That can be arranged." He raised his face and hands, chanting towards the sky, the wind picked up and Bonnie distantly heard thunder boom in the distance. She inched back until her foot hit Stefan's still prone body on the ground and felt like the worst type of horror movie cliché as she tripped and fell.

The warlock loomed over her, "I'm going to give you once last chance, Bonnie. It doesn't have to end this way."

"Fuck you." Once again she sunk her fingers into the earth and felt it start to respond, she was getting ready to toss a few trees in his direction when she heard loud booms again. Except it wasn't thunder this time, she watched in amazement as two holes appeared in the center of the warlocks chest, and then one final one in his forehead. "What the hell?"

He pitched forward onto her as she heard Kai frantically calling her name. Bonnie shoved the rapidly cooling body off her, "Kai?"

"Are you okay?" Kai helped her to her feet and ran his hands over her body to check if she was hurt. She brushed him off, looking around for the device. It didn't matter that he was technically dead, he still had magic in his body that needed to be expelled. "What are you looking for?"

"This." She snatched it off the ground and ran her hands over the inscription, chanting the whole time.

"Bonnie, what the fuck?"

Bonnie turned to face him, the device starting to unravel in her hands, "You may wanna step back for this next part."

Kai hurriedly took a few steps back and watched in amazement as Bonnie placed the device on the dead warlock's chest, almost immediately it started to glow. The wind kicked up and she had to throw up a shield to keep them from blowing away.

When all of the magic had been sucked up Bonnie retrieved the device and turned to face Kai who was still standing there in shock, "Now we can talk."

* * *

In the hour that it took for Kai's backup to arrive, Bonnie broke everything down for Kai. What she was, what the warlock was, why she was targeted and how he was able to not only subdue, but also kill the serial killer when the police could not. She gave him a quick demonstration of her powers when she magically fixed the lawn that had been damaged in her battle with the warlock. She replanted the trees that had been uprooted, closed cracks in the grounds, and returned the garden to it's pristine appearance.

She was also forced to explain just what Stefan was when he suddenly came back to life in the middle of her explanation. Kai was horrified as he heard Stefan's neck re-center itself. Bonnie kept a watchful eye on Stefan as he gasped awake.

"Are you thirsty?" Bonnie asked when it looked like Stefan was more aware. She knew that coming back to life was usually easier when the vampire had blood on hand to help speed up the healing.

He nodded, "Yeah, but I've got something in the car, I'll be fine for right now."

"If you're not…" Bonnie let the warning hang in the air.

"I'm good," he said firmly.

"You were dead" Kai was looking at Stefan with wide eyes, "Your neck was completely twisted around, are you a witch too?"

"I'm a vampire." Stefan briefly let his face change and flashed his fangs before zooming off to wherever he stashed his car.

Kai's eyes widened even more, "Okay, I need to sit down." He sat heavily on a fallen tree.

Bonnie kneeled next to him, "I know this is a lot to take in, but you need to decide what you're going to say when the rest of your squad gets here, because the truth is not an option."

Kai ran a hand over his head, "So why did you tell me?"

"I didn't really have a choice, you saw me using magic. That kind of thing is hard to hide once it's in the open." Bonnie shrugged.

"Right." Kai let out a huff of laughter. "And here I thought I was going to be saving you."

"You did!" Bonnie wrapped her hand around his, "I knocked you out, and somehow you still managed to shake it off and save the day." She frowned, "Wait, how did you shake it off? Not to toot my own horn, but that spell should have kept you knocked out for a few hours at least."

"I have no clue." Kai shrugged.

Bonnie studied him for a moment before blurting out, "Can I have some of your blood?"

"What?"

"It's nothing bad, but you shouldn't have been able to shake off that spell, maybe you've got some magic of your own buried somewhere in you."

Just as he opened his mouth to respond, Stefan zoomed back over. "Heads up, the cavalry is almost here." He looked perfectly normal; one would never guess that he had been laying on the ground with his neck snapped a mere half hour ago.

Kai tilted his head, "I don't hear anything."

"Give it a minute." Bonnie advised. They spent the next ten minutes coming up with a plausible cover story. Sure enough, eventually the sound of a cadre of police sirens could be heard faintly in the distance. Kai looked at Stefan incredulously, the vampire shrugged, "Super hearing, it comes with the whole undead package."

* * *

The next hour or so was filled with people swarming the area and she was soon separated from Kai as they gave their individual statements. The rest of the night passed in a blur and by the time Bonnie was released to go home, the sun was just about to come up.

Bonnie sat in Stefan's rental car just outside her home, he had driven her home and would soon be on his way back to Mystic Falls. "Why did you really come out here, Stefan?"

He gripped the steering wheel lightly, "I just felt like I owed it to you. We used to be friends-" He stopped when Bonnie scoffed lightly. "We used to be on our way to being friends and somewhere along the way, I lost sight of that."

"Yeah, you did." Bonnie didn't mince any words.

"And then what happened with Enzo." He turned to Bonnie "I am so sorry about that. I acknowledge that I took someone else from you, and you basically have to shut up and take it because you're friends with my brother and I married Caroline."

Bonnie looked down at her hands, Stefan had just put into words a big reason why she had decided to leave Mystic Falls and eventually settle somewhere else. She loved Caroline and wanted her to be happy, but every time she looked at her happy little family, it was a kick in the gut that Bonnie once again was shut off from something that she really wanted.

"Stefan, I can't promise that I'll ever really get over it." She said honestly, "You're right, we were on our way to becoming friends, and I think one day we could find our way back to that." She gave him a hesitant smile, "You being willing to come here on your own and help goes a long way." She got out of the car and waved him off, somehow feeling lighter. She felt like a weight that she hadn't even known she was carrying was lifted off her chest. She didn't know if she and Stefan would ever have a close relationship like she had with Damon, but they had made a good start.

* * *

A few weeks went by and Bonnie was busy reestablishing her daily routine that had been thrown out of whack by her stalker. She took a quick trip down to New Orleans to hand over the magic filled dark artifact to the coven that gave it to her, they promised that they would dispose of it properly. She also made a few changes for her safety, she chose to have all her packages delivered to her office, full stop. It didn't matter if she was used to the sight of blood, she really didn't want to have that around her home.

Which made it more suspicious when she returned to work; there was a package outside her back door. It was a plain box with no return address on it, and just had her name written on the top. She ran a hand over it to see if any magic was emitting from it, and decided to open it outside her shop, just to be safe.

Inside she found a few potted plants with a note attached:

_I looked up what witches liked to have in their garden, and I think I got it right. Want to help me plant them at the cabin?-K_

Bonnie's heart swelled, she hadn't heard from Kai too much since that night. She knew he would be swamped with closing the case, and as such hadn't pushed him for anything. She wanted to wait until he had a chance to fully digest and come to grips with what happened, not to mention the fact that she was a supernatural being. She guessed the plants were his way of saying he was ready.

Bonnie didn't wait, she threw the box in her car and flew home to pack a bag, just in case. The note had directions to the cabin, which Bonnie was grateful for because she hadn't been paying attention at all on the drive up there the first time.

When she pulled up she saw Kai sitting outside on the porch, as if he were waiting for her to show up. She exited her car, "I got your package."

"Did I get the right stuff?" He met her halfway, "I mean, it was a quick google search, so it could have been wrong-" He was cut off by Bonnie grabbing his collar and fixing her lips to his. She had wanted to kiss him for the longest time, that quick peck in order to knock him out just didn't cut it. Kai wasted no time either and wrapped his arms around her waist while Bonnie slid her arms up to grip his neck.

Soon enough the need for air intruded on their moment. Bonnie drew back slowly, but kept her face close to his, "I take it this means you're not too weirded out by the whole witch thing?"

Kai chuckled, his breath fanning her cheek, "I'm still weirded out, but not enough to stay away. I've wanted this for a while."

"Yeah?" Bonnie's smile was ear to ear.

"Yeah, I don't know many girls, or people for that matter, that can just brush off a serial killer being after them." Kai joked.

"Oh, that's not the worst thing I've been through, you have no idea." Bonnie assured him.

Kai's smile faltered, "How bad could it be?"

Bonnie pulled away and motioned towards the house, "How about we go in and get comfortable first? This is gonna take a while."


End file.
